The FDA is renewing a warning about the potential for dosing errors with liquid acetaminophen products for infants, which may have been compounded by the recent introduction of a new 160 mg/5 mL strength. Ironically, the new strength and the resulting potential for trouble stems from an effort by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and outside safety experts to reduce exactly this sort of dosing confusion.

The FDA is informing the public that an additional concentration of liquid acetaminophen marketed for “infants” (160 mg/5 mL) is now available. Giving the wrong dose of acetaminophen can cause the medication to be ineffective if too little is given or cause serious side effects and, possibly, death if too much is given. Acetaminophen is marketed under brand names such as Tylenol, Little Fevers, Triaminic, Infant/Pain Reliever, Pedia Care, Triaminic Infants’ Syrup Fever Reducer Pain Reliever and other store brands (e.g., Rite Aid, CVS, Walgreens brand, etc.).

A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel has voted to recommend new dosing instructions for Tylenol and acetaminophen products for children under two years old. The agency is planning to draft new guidelines for drugmakers on instructions for giving acetaminophen to children in order to decrease the risk of overdose.

Federal health regulators are limiting a key ingredient found in Vicodin, Percocet and other prescription painkillers that have been linked to thousands of cases of liver damage each year. The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it will cap the amount of acetaminophen in the drugs at 325 milligrams per capsule. Current products on the market contain doses of up to 700 milligrams.

U.S. health regulators are requesting a limit on the amount of acetaminophen in prescription pain medicines in an effort to curb the risk of liver damage. The move announced on on Thursday aims to limit combination drugs such as the opioids Percocet and Vicodin to 325 milligrams of acetaminophen per pill and calls for them to carry a “black box” warning about potential liver failure.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said a Johnson & Johnson unit should have acted sooner to recall Tylenol and other products after receiving consumer complaints about moldy or mildew-like smells. Agency officials said Friday the company first became aware of a problem in September 2008, but didn’t conduct a full investigation and report the problem to the agency until September 2009.